Niche Music room represents Lehnerd legacy
As a longtime educator in Butler County, Bill Lehnerd inspired people to listen.
Lehnerd died in May 2009 at age 79, but his gift to the Butler Library will ensure that people continue to hear.
On Oct. 10, construction began on a music listening center that will house the library's 3,000 CDs. The center also will include five stations where visitors can use touch screens to access the digitized versions and listen to the music on site.
The center is being constructed in a former vending machine area between the lobby and the Kid's Cove children's section.
There, a freestanding wrap-around wall will isolate the cozy listening stations within the 440-square-foot room, allowing space around the perimeter for accessing children's books and restrooms.
Along with Lehnerd's donation, the $50,000 project is happening through a relationship with La Roche College in Pittsburgh, where a sophomore interior design class submitted proposals on how and where to create the center.
That relationship formed after Greg Sloan, library director of development and community relations, approached Penn Township resident Sally Wood at the Butler YMCA, where both work part-time in the aquatics department. Wood also teaches interior design at La Roche.
“We decided it would be a really good opportunity,” said Wood, explaining how the project's size and scope rendered it suitable for a class project.
The project found its way to professor Dev Nagar, whose sophomore class of 15 broke into groups of three to create five competing designs.
The project was assigned early in the Fall 2010 semester. By October, the student groups made formal presentations to library staff and board members.“All of the designs were fabulous,” said library executive director Lori Hinderliter. “We could have easily used any one of them.”The winning design was created by Molly Podplesky, Caroline Vranesevic and Amanda Gilliland, who unbeknownst to the selection committee had first-hand knowledge of Lehnerd and the library.“I graduated from Butler High School and Butler County Community College in architectural drafting,” said Gilliland, now in her last year at La Roche in the three-year accelerated program.“I remember when the children's reading area was on the upper floor and had a wonderful castle painted on the wall. (During junior high) I would hang out in the youth area and computer area,” Gilliland said.“My family has been involved with the Musical Theatre Guild, Butler Little Theatre and Butler Summer Dramatics for many years,” she added.“My mother and grandmother were friends of Bill, and I have had the pleasure of having Bill as a director as well as fellow actor. The last musical I performed with Bill was ‘Damn Yankees' in 2000. Bill was a very patient, sweet man, and he is greatly missed in the theater community.”Prior to creating the design, Gilliland arranged for her team members to meet at the Musical Theatre Guild's production center at Butler Memorial Park in order to “feel the essence of Bill.”“I felt I knew exactly what Bill would want,” she said.Sloan said the library also took into account Lehnerd's passions and priorities when deciding how to use the donation.“We wanted to do something to recognize the contribution,” he said.“Because of what Bill's done in the community, the music center was a perfect choice. We wanted a nice environment where people could come in and relax, make their music selection and listen to it right here.”Lehnerd's role in the community included teaching English, speech and theater for 31 years at Butler High School as well as at Butler County Community College. He was a founding member and past president of the Musical Theatre Guild and was active in Butler Little Theatre productions.Lehnerd also was a founding member of the Butler Arts Council and a past board member and president of the Butler County Symphony.The music center design is being implemented by Butler architect David Hill of Olsen and Associates and George White Construction, based in Chicora.Completion is expected by late November, in time to be unveiled Dec. 8 at the library's annual Second Century Society donor reception.
